The field of the disclosure relates generally to additive manufacturing systems, and more particularly, to systems and methods for rotating build platforms with a Direct Metal Laser Melting (DMLM) system.
At least some additive manufacturing systems involve the buildup of a powdered material to make a component. This method can produce complex components from powder materials at a reduced cost and with improved manufacturing efficiency. At least some known additive manufacturing systems, such as DMLM systems, fabricate components using a laser device, a build platform, a recoater, and a powder material, such as, without limitation, a powdered metal. The laser device generates a laser beam that melts the powder material on the build platform in and around the area where the laser beam is incident on the powder material, resulting in a melt pool. The build platform is lowered by some amount, for example, 10 to 100 microns and the recoater spreads additional powered build material over the prior layers. Additionally, the weld pool of some known DMLM systems generates smoke during the build process which interferes with the laser beam and the melt pool. As such, some known DMLM systems channel a flow of an inert gas across the melt pool during the build process to remove the smoke. If the components were all stationary, the flow of inert gas and the direction the recoater spreads the powdered build material would always be in the same direction. As such, the flow of inert gas and the recoater interferes with the melt pool and cause defects in the produced components. These defects are made worse or more common by spreading the powdered build material in the same direction for each layer of the build and by continually channeling a flow of inert gas in the same direction.